iZKA® Extra Long UK Micro USB Mains Charger

After being bought my new Kindle Fire HD, I quickly realised that the USB charger provided would not be good enough. I needed a mains charger but I didn’t want to pay Amazon’s £17 for the official charger. After looking at the cheaper options on Amazon, I decided to go with the iZKA® Extra Long UK Micro USB Mains Charger. For £4.95, I thought I was just getting a cheaper equivalent.

The charger comes in a small blue and white box, barely big enough for the charger itself. On the front of the packaging is a picture of the charger along with the name of the product. Inside the box, the charger is wrapped in a small plastic bag which doesn’t really protect it from anything.

Nowhere on the box does it state what products this charger is compatible with unlike on Amazon which says it can be used with:
Kindle
Kindle 2
Kindle DX
Kindle DX international version
Kindle DX Graphite
Kindle Keyboard Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/3G
Kindle Touch Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/3G
Kindle Paperwhite
Kindle Fire
Kindle Fire HD

The side of the box, however, states that you should first check that the charger is compatible with your device and also gives basic instructions for use. Really, it says plug it in and watch the little blue light flash so you know your device is charging.

So, my Kindle was actually decently charged for the first few days after I received this so it took me a little while to use it. On first use, everything was completely fine. I plugged in my charger and it did its job well and quickly. My Kindle was fully charged in 3ish hours and I couldn’t have been happier not having to use the USB charger with my laptop. However, on second use, I noticed that the charger did not connect properly. It was plugged in, turned on and the blue light on the plug was also on. I had just plugged it in and left it to charge but when I went back, the battery life had gone down, not up.

I figured it was maybe just a bad connection so I tried again but to no avail. The Kindle Fire HD tells you when a charger is connected but after the first use, it never picked up this charger again. I contacted the seller, explained the problem and they then sent me a new charger as mine was apparently faulty. When the new charger arrived, I immediately tested it out and this time, it didn’t even charge the first time.

As you can see, this product just is not compatible with the Kindle Fire HD. I have no idea about the older versions of the Kindle though. After a couple of weeks of hassle and sending things back etc., I wish I had just splashed out and bought the Amazon version straight away as I am going to have to now anyway.